Salad cakes are the latest weird food craze in Japan

Always wanted to eat cake guilt-free? A new Japanese craze for "salad cakes" could be the answer to your prayers.

These beautiful cakes are the work of Japanese food stylist and designer, Misuki Moriyasu, who sells them from her new cafe Vegedeco, in Nagoya.

Moriyasu invented the cakes while working at another restaurant, as a way to make vegetables more palatable. Her customers had such a positive response, she decided to open a separate cafe to sell them.

The peculiar creations are made by blending whole vegetables, roots and all, with soybean flour to create a spongy feel. Little or no sugar is added and for the icing, she mixes vegetables with cream cheese or tofu. The result is a low-carbohydrate, gluten-free cake which counts as one of your five a day.

Beautiful bakes: as well as "salad" cakes, Moriyasu's cafe sells healthy alternatives such as rice bread and "Vegi Drop" Tea Credit:
Bejidekosarada/PR Times

If you want to satisfy your sweet tooth, "salad" cakes are probably not the answer. But if salads have never tickled your fancy, then this new take on leafy greens could be worth a try.